#(context for why here and that tag M. Guardian voice.)

[the-weeping-dawn]

Unrelated: But I just feel like everyone should be made aware of The Bag Man is Here a project, punk band, some third thing released upon us by Ethan V. Reid* that I'm going to try to not be annoying about but would like you all to be aware of before I do potentially get weird if there is more content

(one of few full songs recorded thus far)

[luminous-shifting-vibes]

*sequel* to actual fucking quotes from the shiftblr coffeehouse discord server

once again, it's out of context because x1000 funnier

also x1000 longer than previous post

"ur satan is gnc af"

"Bestie I’m already having gender envy over a fucking demon please"

"O_O ODEPIJHFbavevisdpvfhzdcnjawedsidjksjdkoeirjfmkdsoeirujdksodifjndmksoidfjdksidfj ITS" NOT IN MY FRAFTS IS SPEDNT 1 hour PN THAT SHIT"

"AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

"ohoho sexy"

"I am very proud of myself"

"himbo x edgy fuck"

"YOU COULD SQUISH HES CHEECKS"

"he has teefs"

"SQUASH"

"good for biting 📷"

"he's a himbo basically"

"B͂̒̄iͫ̍̈tͧ̓ͯè̄̇"

"bifth"

"i havent watched blue exorcist in years but mr okumura my beloved </3"

"MY LIFE QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED"

"is it important information to mention that the person i put up for my turn is the son of satan" "I know like 1 thing about everyone who isnt ranboo lmfao"

"crimes"

"tumblr sexyman"

"idk why but my first thought was cowboy onceler"

"I vibe with him but he is very long and twisty"

"steampunk e-girl"

"steampunk tumblr sexyman"

"Canonically bi crimelord I agree!!"

"OOO FRIEND SHAPED"

"ARTIST SIGHTED"

"they look like someone i would want to be friends with but is way cooler than me so i'd never actually talk to them"

"babby..... would die for him"

"honestly i probably kin him"

"i'm sure he's lovely but he looks way too much like my ex i'm sorry-"

"i'd be down for another rotation! i have another twink to show y'all"

"Also :00 blonde friend"

"Let us all infodhmo"

"Hsjagdvbs shhh im on phone"

"Nix woukd you like to joon?

"skitters away"

"I have two braincells and they both drink dumb bitch juice"

"oof wait whats the order again i have 0 memory"

"i want to bond with him over cosplay-"

"Awkwardly watches in band kid"

"One day I'm gonna a broadway star"

"which isnt to say they were bad. they were just fortnite dancing during rehersals"

"I threw it so hard my glasses flew off and slid under the stage right divider"

"anyway heres my boi"

"emo"

"haha emo"

"virgil sanders kinnie"

"he looks like he listens to my chemical panic at the fallout boy"

"Bro I bet he'd kick my ass with his deck"

"bird man my beloved"

"fuck i had so much to say and then i forgot it all"

"Birds!!"

"guiguhuh"

"crabrave"

"She sounds like someone I would end up stealing her personality"

"yess name collector gang"

"alias glass aiden haven absinthe fish brick rice"

"But I have Cypress, Remure, Genesis, Lemres, and Comet"

"And she's named after a mars candy bar bc alien"

"Hey, if plato went by plato, you can be king thief"

"im not dissing my gramma like that shfojd"

"My dad has seven legal names" "bitches be like *looks at fictional character* *steals their name* it's us we're bithces"

"coraline lowkey traumatized me but i adore it regardless"

"mmmmmm magic man :]"

"°0° green man"

"criminal (affectionate)"

"he would shoplift a candy bar from walmart and then brag to all of his friends about the sick stealing he did"

"despite the fact he's canonically been capable of overpowering a minor deity"

"i would commit so many crimes for him"

"Very babey"

"Yes please tell green man he is very pog"

"he also keeps a lot of dumb secrets"

"but I will sorely miss the chaos and energy of this here chat until I wake again" (by request XD)

"i just say words and if they're funny then they're funny"

"* or extremly chaotic either works"

"at this point we are just taking turns rambling"

"oH--"

"bc my brain has a schedule"

"Hopefully they have gyoza there or I will lose my mind"

"hehe yes spooky man"

"my ghost glucose guardian"

"the head of the undead group that lives there, and we end up dating. (yes I date a ghost, no I will not be taking constructive criticism /lh)"

"ghosts r just inherently sexy"

"i mean im becoming a squid thing so"

"Raven quirk raven quirk!!"

"ł â m p"

"łæmp"

"mothman: ooh lamp you look very nice today! do you come here often? mothman: wait shit no"

"I'd date a ghost"

"mine is still accurate, i am still sobbing (/j)"

"p e e p e e"

""@nick wilde is a tumblr sexyman" is the best thing i have ever seen"

"im sorry im cackling like a dying hyena"

"you're all 12 year olds"

"PEENIE"

"He once caused global warming on accident so he could get a tan"

"god, what a himbo. i love him"

"that reminds me of my friends kin assigned me jesus"

"Man outside of battle be like: princely crying but then in battle hes like: "CATACLYSM! DISASTER! DEVASTATION!" Chill out man"

"Every time I talk about satan it never fails to shock people it's my favorite thing to do"

"im kin assigning him roman sanders" ""Oh yeah he caused global warming because he wanted to get girls" "he what""

"oh damn i forgot satan was straight"

"twink appreciation club"

"give us the twinks"

"my first thought was bottom-"

"so many people to try and get his dad to love him"

"daddy issued"

"OH MY GOD ITS WILBUR"

"Big boy but"

"anyways janus is swagggg"

"........................."

"gib twink"

"give twink then i will share"

"holds him gentle like hamburger"

"This dumb bitch opened a book that said "do not open" and got possessed by a little bastard"

"he is. fragile creachur"

"klug is beauty klug is grace i would let him step on my face"

"If I'm playing swap and I have to hear one more "Pwanet Powew" Im gonna lose it"

"Who is to blame? Pandora or the box?"

"Bakugo isnt my type but I respect the drip"

"i say like my type isnt long-haired pretty boys and girls that look so gnc that people have a history of confusing them for men"

"hes a gremlin and i can appreciate a pretty gremlin"

"that is to say i am attracted to VFlower vocaloid. This is a confession."

"note i am a lesbian"

"You may like Schezo wegey"

"why does he have one single expression"

"soul soul eater passes the vibe check"

"magic wand"

"I Want To Hold His Hand"

"i would commit a war crime for him any war crime idc which one"

"my favorite one is when he sounded rlly gay because he said "Muscular bodies keep me satisfied""

"p e a n u t"

"Klug is a homophobic homosexual its just facts"

"grug from the croods is peak male performance"

"jaw drops to floor, eyes pop out of sockets accompanied by trumpets, heart beats out of chest, awooga awooga sound effect, pulls chain on train whistle that has appeared next to head as steam blows out, slams fists on table, rattling any plates, bowls or silverware, whistles loudly, fireworks shoot from top of head, pants loudly as tongue hangs out of mouth, wipes comically large bead of sweat from forehead, clears throat, straightens tie, combs hair Ahem, you look very lovely."

"tag yourself im the fireworks shooting from the top of the head"

"i like essays"

"central time gang"

"11:11 pog-" (wait... is that a suprise angel number?? yes it is lovelies just for you <3)

"Then again im also a dumbass bitch who wonders what the souls in soul eater taste like. SERIOUSLY THOUGH. THEY LOOK TASTY AS HELL!!!! LIKE GODDAMN BRO YOU'RE MAKING ME FUCKING HUNGRY. Like. that shit- it's Bone Apple motherfucking Teeth. hell yea my guy. Im hongy now.... shlorp I'm seriously considering this. Like. They seem kinda like a liquid? But a solid? Are they like jello? The fuck they taste like my guy???? I keep imagining they're like sour, like sour candy maybe? Or do they taste salty? Sweet? Maybe some combo of two? Do they even have a taste or is it about the texture? The sensation? God my mouth is watering what the hell. I am starving. I think I need to go get a cookie. I'm gonna go get a cookie. Brb. I'm better. I'm still craving souls though. Which is a weird-ass cringey thing to say but I'm being dead-ass rn. They just.... look tasty???? And I wanna eat one. Thus. I am shifting to Soul Eater for the express purpose of satisfying my fucking cravings. enjoy"

"points were made"

"jello? more like helloooo schloooAHFJDSDAIDWNALDHSJKDAIDANDM"

"WAIT I THINK I HAVE AN ANIME GIRL BITING VIDEO TOO"

"anime girl voice: mmm! mm... ahhhhmp!! mmm, mmm... aaahmp!"

"i think it sounds great i'm going to start eating like that"

"several people are typing"

"do these look edible to you"

"forbidden gummies"

"when I was on lsd I couldn't eat my fruit gummies because I thought they were alive because they had little faces on them"

"oh shit yeah don't do drugs"

"anyways general consensus is puyos are edible, ty for your input everyone"

"everypony is a word so powerful it can bring nations to its knees"

"pls the self control it's taking me not to say "hewwo everypony" in gen chat when someone new joins-"

"hewwo evewrypony uwu deaw cewestia i hopwe it doewsnt wain owo"

"ive cooked up a sowution wiwth the knowwege ive acwued. they say a kitcwen time saves niwne, but im just savwing two. Ive gathewwed the inwedients to make a time sowbet. Thewe's hawdly woom fow seconds when the seconds mewt away."

"I had a ten year old sister... you know what happened to her??? very sad, very tragic... she turned eleven....."

"NIIICE"

"Guts dont say the secks word :( /j"

"watch your fucking language in front of the president"

"im so sorry lumi"

"i think you're like ehhhh 8/10 funny"

"now me???? 10/10. Hilarious"

"sometimes i have to take a step back and remember that this is the same guts i follow on tumblr /lh"

""ok every here's some good shifting advice!!! uwu have a good day" "yeah i did lsd and ate fruit gummies""

"i have one setting and it's whatever this is"

"my bitch ass cat just pushed the door open with his fuzzy face and now my sleeping dad is being lulled into dreams by Cosmo Sheldrake's 'Pliocine'."

"me on discord: nick wilde"

"me on tumblr: shifting water! haha funne! me on here: my hermit crabs are cannibals also i want to eat souls."

"im sorry yOUR VIBESA RE JUST SO DIFFERNT"

"u give off older cousin ive never spoken to but always admire at the family gatherings vibes"

"what the fuck"

"BC I HAVE LIBERTU"

"If you adopt me then yes"

"am I qualified for dad jokes???"

"we're all a lot smarter on tumblr"

"I'm like "awww... sweet... sweet little shiftlings... posting such sweet shiftling content... so pure, so wholesome... does not even know abcs....""

"can't think before you speak if you never think B)"

"I'm not responsible enough to be a mom"

"cat pet"

"show us pictures of the cat or i will do Crime"

"maybe thats me being a coward tho"

"MOTH!!!! MOTH MY BELOVED"

if y'all want I can make this a series bc shiftblr keeps giving me more content

[secret-engima]

Forged in Fury-verse Drabble: Mother’s Rage

( @sparklecryptid @an--angel--can--fly @ertrunkenerwassergeist @skyshinigamialchemist *slaps this down on the table* BEHOLD. THE CONTEXT FOR MY PREVIOUS POST. IT’S ONLY ... MILDLY ANGSTY. SURPRISINGLY. Also tagging @wolfsrainrules @ean-sovukau @rayearthdudette. Also also, I blame you for this Moose. Your HCs on Ramuh and Leviathan have INSPIRED me and that inspiration finally culminated in this ... and also a few other things that are still in progress *flails*.)

     They had not come to Altissia seeking an audience with Leviathan. They had come because the Empire was there and because Regina was never one to waste a resource or a chance to earn another ally. Sylva had tentatively offered to speak to Leviathan, to rouse her and ask for her favor —Regina had already won the favor of Shiva and Ifrit after all, it was not impossible she would win the Hydraean’s— but Regina turned her down. It was too much risk to the city, and so long as the Astrals did not actively get in her way, Regina honestly preferred not to deal with them —she didn’t trust them, didn’t trust that actively seeking a Blessing rather than earning it by accident would not carry a price she refused to pay—.

     So perhaps it was no surprise that when Regina made a point not to seek out the Hydraean…

     The Hydraean came to her.

     “Mortal.” Regina exhaled slowly, closed her eyes, inhaled the salty tang of the waterfront air and listened to the telling screams of terror and then reverent, petrified silence of the world around her where seconds ago there had been chatter and cheer. Then she opened her eyes and looked up into the looming features of Leviathan.

     “Hydraean.”

     Beside her, Sylva’s breath hitched, confusion and fear vibrating against Regina’s senses —because Leviathan was supposed to be slumbering, not here, rising out of the bay in front of the hotel Regina and her group had just stepped out of on their way to meet the Prime Minister— and Regina felt her Storm bristle at her back, ready to pull her away from the Astral before them and defend her even if it cost his life. She mentally thanked Cid for clamping a firm hand on Cor’s neck before he could to more than lay a hand on his sword hilt.

     The Hydraean didn’t seem to notice or care about any of it. She only had eyes for Regina, “Mortal,” repeated the Astral with a twitch of her great, silver-blue fins, “Defier of Fates, She Who Spits in the Face of Prophecy and Walks With the Accursed, yet has earned the favor of both the Glacian and the Fallen Infernian. So you finally come to my resting place. Are you here to beg favor?” A flash of spear-like fangs, the already huddling, cowering crowd of civilians sobbed in terror, hands over their ears in pain at the booming, indecipherable tongue of the Astrals.

     Regina wasn’t really all that surprised that she was an exception. That she could understand the Hydraean when a glance at her companions revealed all but Sylva and Ardyn watching on in uncomprehending confusion. She turned her attention back to Leviathan, “No, honored Hydraean. I am not here to beg your favor, I did not even intend to wake you from your slumber.”

     “Yet you bring the Accursed into my city, bring him over the surface of my waters. Did you really expect me to stay silent?” One great eye tilted toward her and there was scorn in the slitted gaze, “Did you really expect to avoid confrontation with me when you have blatantly defied the will of the Draconian and dare to consort with the foul Accursed?”

     Regina felt something inside her go cold and deadly, felt the soft pulse of Shiva’s ice in her belly and Ifrit’s counterpart hum of heat up her spine as she shifted to more fully stand between Leviathan and the cringing Ardyn, “His name is Ardyn, he is my kin and he is no more foul or accursed than I am.”

     “Blind, ignorant, arrogant worm,” growled the Astral before her with a ripple of magic that made the waves tremble, “can you not feel his taint? Can you not smell the stench of the scourge on him?” Regina bared her teeth right back, refused to cower in shame or fear as Ardyn was doing behind her back, ignored Ardyn’s whispered plea for Regina to back down from the fight brewing between her magic and the Hydraean’s. Leviathan snorted, a great billow of steam and a swirl of magic that made the bay waters rise like open waves before settling, “He is the Accursed, foul and plague-ridden and tainted.”

     “And who’s fault is that, exactly.” It took a moment for Regina to identify her own voice, so soft and cold, rolling with the oldest language she knew. She’d … almost forgotten she could sound like that. But now she remembered, and when she breathed, the salty air felt like shards of ice in her lungs. Leviathan reared back in shock and Regina repeated, “Who’s. Fault. Is. That.”

     Leviathan narrowed her eyes dangerously, “You dare imply that the Astrals are to blame for the Accursed?”

     Regina tilted her head, ignoring Sylva’s hands on her arm and the plea of her Lightning in her ear to stop, “What I am implying is that if the vaunted Guardians of Our Star had actually done their job, the Starscourge wouldn’t have been a problem and Ardyn wouldn’t have had to sacrifice himself trying to save people from something that humans are not meant to cure.”

      Leviathan’s roar of rage churned the waves out in the bay to a frenzy, sending boats jolting and bucking against their restraints and making people scream as the Hydraean loomed even further out of the water, her coils seeming to stretch on forever into the sky even as her head lowered to snarl right in Regina’s face, “Insolent Mortal! What gives you the right to dare speak to the Hydraean this way? What right have you to question us and fight against prophecy?”

     Regina’s favored sword was in her hand in an instant, rage in her blood and violet tinting the air with crystal fractals as she pointed the blade at Leviathan’s head and bared her teeth. She didn’t notice the ice spreading out from her feet to freeze the nearest waves, didn’t register the others scrambling back as her shoulders became cloaked in violet fire. She barely registered her voice deepening with magic to a dangerous, inhuman pitch as she snarled back, “I have every right! The Chosen King you plan to sacrifice is my son! My child! My beloved baby is on your alter of sacrifice before he is even conceived! What do you expect me, a MOTHER, to do BUT question your will and fight your prophecy?”

     Leviathan’s head jerked back as if slapped, pupils blowing wide enough to swallow the color of her great eyes in black. Around them, the stormy waves stilled. Settled to soft, gentle ripples against the soaked Altissian cobblestones, reflecting the twisting storm clouds that had formed overhead in response to the clashing magics of the Hydaean and a single, desperate human mother. Leviathan stared and Regina breathed, deep and ragged and fragile in her own fury, blade still pointed accusingly at the Hydraean’s looming frame.

      A slow blink and Leviathan’s pupils settled into something between the furious slits or wide-blown shock of before, “A mother.” Another blink, a slow hiss and a sudden, disbelieving softening of her voice from crashing ocean waves to far off thunder, “All of this. All this defiance, the freeing of the Accursed, the swaying of the Oracle, the winning of the Glacian’s and the Fallen Infernian’s favor, the defiance of prophecy and the spitting in the face of the Draconian who blessed your line … because you are a mother?”

     Regina inhaled, exhaled, felt the inhuman power of her voice fade into something tired even as she kept her blade up and ready for a fight, “…Yes. That is why I fight. That is what everything I have done was for.”

     “He is not even conceived in your womb. You do not even have a mate to help you bear him yet. You have never even seen his face or heard his heartbeat. And yet,” Leviathan’s head tilted very slowly to one side, “you love him. An intangible concept and yet your heart beats solely for him. How can you so fiercely love something that is still just an idea?”

     Regina stared into wild, distinctly inhuman eyes in a face that was as far from human as could be. She stared at swaying, house-sized fins and spear-sharp teeth, the embodiment of the ocean in all its terrible, beautiful glory.

     She lowered her blade and answered with a simple, “Didn’t you?”

     The world went still. The tiny waves flattened to pure, reflective grey-black glass, the sea breezes faded, the storm clouds stopped rumbling. All of the world held its breath in shock. Crystalized in fragile silence of disbelief.

     Leviathan didn’t twitch so much as a fin as she rasped, “I … I do not understand.”

     Regina flexed her fingers over her sword hilt, repeated in a voice as soft as a breeze, “When you first looked upon humanity, upon the little sailors cobbling together their boats of fragile wood and cloth. The tiny children who looked at your waters and saw not just the danger but the adventure. When you first looked, really looked at the members of humankind who loved your waters as fiercely as if they had been born to them and not land. Wasn’t there a moment? Where something inside you went, ‘I could have children’? A moment where you looked upon your oceans, wild and terrible and free and realized that you didn’t have to be alone anymore? That these little, fragile creatures you had never bothered to pay attention to before could mean something? Could be your children, your little ones, your sons and daughters of the sea?”

     Regina met Leviathan’s gaze without fear and whispered, “And then, before you ever picked out which humans you would Bless, before Blessing those humans and making them your children was anything more than just an idea, a concept in your mind-. Didn’t you love them? Didn’t you feel ready to do anything for them if it meant that when the day came that they did exist, they would be happy?” A breath, shaky and pained with memories she could not afford to weep over now, and her sword slipped away into armiger from nerveless fingers as she instead raised her hands from her sides in an unspoken plea.

     “That’s why you’re called Tide-Mother, isn’t it?”

     A breath. An eternity. A frozen heartbeat of time where Regina stared at the Leviathan and the Leviathan stared at her and the both of them saw, clear as a painting, the reality of the other. The reality of times unwound and betrayals unhealed.

     Of children, loved and lost and gone, leaving nothing but memories and bleeding, broken hearts behind.

     Then Leviathan threw back her head and screamed.

     The storm erupted into a down pour and the glass-still waters surged toward the skies as the Tide-Mother wailed old grief and pain and rage to the heavens. Regina breathed past the flashes of memory-love-loss-pain that pressed against her senses through the heavy magic pushing and pulling through the air like a tide, past the images of a people Blessed and loved and then taken away by Steel and Fire and mistakes and greed.

     As the rain pelted down onto the streets and soaked her to the bone in seconds, Regina tilted her head back to face it and let it mingle with her own tears.

     Finally, the Tide-Mother’s head tilted back down toward the earth, the rain settling from a torrent to a mournful patter on skin and scales. Leviathan sounded so very weary as she said, “I was indeed a mother once. And my love reached from sea to sea. But my children are gone now, and those who traverse my waves are nothing more than the scattered bones of Solheim’s folly.” A blink and a contemplative, mournful look down at Regina, “I do not care for humanity anymore. They belong to Bahamut now, and when he saw fit to lay the Prophecy upon them, I felt nothing as I slept beneath my waves. I still do not care whether humanity lives or dies. But you do not fight for humanity, do you? You fight for your unborn child and your Chosen and them alone, even if it means burning down the world around you.”

     Leviathan suddenly laughed, old and dark as the promise of a hurricane, “I do not care for humanity,” she repeated, “But I care even less for the arrogance of the Draconian that led to my children’s deaths.” Slitted eyes assessed Regina, and this time when she bared her spear-length fangs it was in a smile, “I will Bless you, Mother of the Chosen. I will Bless you so that you might save your child from the fate that befell my own.”

     Regina narrowed her eyes, “And what do you require in return?”

     Leviathan’s smile grew, “You will teach your children in ways of the sea, the proper ways, not the soulless metal things they use in these days. Do not lie, I sense the ocean in your soul, you were once a wave-rider. Pass that knowledge on so that I might once again have little adventurers upon my waters, true sea-children who can feel the heartbeat of my tides and do not fear the wrath of my storms for all they are wary of it. They will carry my Blessing through your blood and they will be mine indirectly. This is what I desire of you. I desire…” Leviathan tilted her head, growling and considering to herself as if in search of something, some word to summarize her deal.

     Feeling a little bit disbelieving, but also not, Regina asked dryly, “You … will give me your Blessing in exchange for being able to pass that Blessing on through my blood, the same as the Draconian’s was passed to me.” A blink and a look at the wide-eyed Ardyn and Sylva, then she clarified, “Basically … you … want me to give you grandchildren?” 

     Leviathan seemed to roll the word over in her head a few times, then hissed, greedy and victorious, “Yes. That is what I desire. Grandchildren. New wave-riders and TideSingers.”

     “I won’t let them be sacrificed to you. If they choose to live on land more than the sea that is their choice for all generations after. You will not put them on strings like puppets.”

     “Of course not,” she snorted back, “I am the Hydraean of the Seas, not the Draconian of unbending Steel and Prophecies. They will be free to come and go from my currents as they please, so long as they keep the knowledge of how to truly traverse my waves. Well, Mother of the Chosen? Do we have an accord?”

     Regina filled her lungs with salty air, felt the humming Blessings of Shiva and Ifrit and Bahamut —though the latter only through inheritance— already under her skin. Then bared her teeth in a smile every bit as wild and vicious as Leviathan’s, “Yes. I accept your terms.”

     Leviathan laughed, deep and old and terrible and Regina forced herself to stay standing through the pain of another Blessing sinking into her blood and bones and soul, “I look forward to seeing what chaos you will sow as you break the Draconian’s Prophecy, Child. Do not forget your promise.”

     “Don’t forget yours, Grandmother Hydraean.”

     “Brat.” Snorted the Astral Tide-Mother in return as she plunged back beneath the waves, still laughing all the while. Just as the last of her scales disappeared beneath the water, Regina almost thought she caught a glimpse of a beautiful woman in the finest of sea-colored silks and coral jewelry rather than endless scales and serpentine features. The woman smiled and the expression was almost, but not quite human. Regina smiled back, just as fae and wild, and the vision faded as the Leviathan returned to her slumbers beneath the tides.

[passionfruitys]

strike a chord.  pairing. terudai  chapters. 1/?  rating. m  summary. terushima yuuji is the lead singer of rock band FERAL that debuted a year ago. he's known as a playboy, a wild child, unpredictable and electric. no one can tie him down and his only love is the music he makes with his bandmates. he doesn't see himself ever tying himself down to anything or anyone else. then comes in sawamura daichi, a normal college student who doesn't care about the entertainment industry or any flair or fanfare terushima has to offer. at first, terushima's interested because daichi's so uninterested. but soon, terushima finds that daichi and all his normalcy are more than just a game for him to play with until he gets bored.but is he in love? no absolutely not. never. think again!

Someone was in his bed.

A female someone, if the smell of perfume and the taste of curly hair jammed in his mouth was any indication to go by. His eyes cracked open slowly, sleep and eye gunk weighing them down. Beside him was someone he didn’t recognize. A normal reaction would be to freak out. For Terushima Yuuji, waking up in a bed with a stranger was a normal Wednesday morning routine.

“Go home,” he croaked.

The girl beside him stirred, yawned, and opened her eyes. “Go home ,” he pressed.

She scowled. The smeared lipstick made her less intimidating.  “What do you mean go home? You’re the one who brought me here! Begged me, no less.”

“Sounds fake,” he yawned, turning onto his side so his back was now facing towards her. She sputtered, called him some not so pretty names , then stormed out his room. Hopefully with all her things in tow. If not he’d have his manager mail them to her.

Well, probably not since he didn’t know her name or where she lived or what her favorite color was. But it was the thought that counted.

He sighed, now able to properly sprawl out on his bed. Maybe he’d crawl out of bed to bring his guitar in for a snuggle. Mornings were definitely meant for solo missions where he could just exist and sink into the mattress and bury under pillows. He was drifting back to sleep when his door opened and someone sat on his bed.

“Morning, princess.”

“Die, Bobata.”

“Rude!” Bobata chirped, crossing his legs and leaning his weight against Tersuhima’s side. Terushima frowned and reached blindly for his friend to push him off but to no avail. “I come in here, minimizing your damage by the way, and wake up you yet I’m treated with such hostility? Being your best friend has no perks!”

“What damage did you minimize?”

“Youko-chan. The model you rudely kicked out of bed after nicely asking her to get into it last night.”

“That was her name,” he vaguely remembered meeting her last night. In the band’s usual night hangout. He remembered her voice in his ears and his hand on her thigh and then her tongue in his mouth and after that it was all darkness.

Again, literally a typical wednesday night for him.

Realizing that sleep was no longer an option, Terushima pushed himself up into a sitting position. He blinked sleep from his eyes, yawning.  His hair was all over the place, bleach blond kicked up towards the ceiling in all sorts of directions like lightning bolts. He glanced at Bobata who was texting on his phone. “You going for her next?”

“Nah,” Bobata clucked his tongue, “Not my type. I like a challenge.”

“Are you saying I can only get them easy?” he shot back, but there’s no real malice in his tone. Not like his next yawn did anything to help make him sound more aggressive.  

“I would never allude to such a thing,” his tone was airy but the shit-eating grin on his face said otherwise. Terushima flipped him off and rolled out of bed. He scanned his room and sighed. His pants were at the door and his shirt was on a chair. At least Kyou--Youko-chan had gotten her stuff before storming out. He scratched at his stomach as he headed for the shower. He smelt like sex and felt like booze replaced the blood in his veins.

“We have our meeting in 10 minutes, by the way!”

“Cool so I’m showing up late, thanks for letting them know!” Terushima hollered before heading into the shower. He was pretty sure he heard Bobata yell fuck you, a perfect harmony to the chaotic laughter that bubbled from his throat in response.

*

As promised, Terushima arrived to their meeting 30 minutes later. But it’s fine because he no longer felt like ass and he was stepping out . Hair styled, earrings polished, leather jacket looked just beat up enough to be vintage but with the price tag to show it was definitely modern and expensive as anything. He strolled into their meeting room with his hands in his pockets and a grin on his lips.

“Hello friends! What’s popping?”

“You’re late ,” his manager, Kagami, cut no corners with him. Kagami was the band’s manager, and then some. Sometimes team dad, sometimes team mom , and Terushima’s well... guardian? Savior? He didn’t know what title appropriately fit Kagami and no words could really describe it. Kagami was gruff, tall and well built--could fill out suits with ease. He always had his hair styled and cut short, curling around his ears. And his lips were generally slotted in a frown. Mostly from stress, but for the most part because Kagami and happiness were never synonymous in any context.

Which was why Terushima enjoyed fucking with him the most. “Ah, am I? Technically time doesn’t really exist so if we’re following that logic I’m really on time. Because, you know, it’s a social construct.”

“He’s not wrong,” Bobata chimed from his chair, now playing with a DS that oddly looked like--

“Oi! Is that mine?” Terushima lunged across the table and reached for his DS. Bobata moved just in time, pushing his rolling chair back with a cackle and a spin. “Bastard how could you take my shit like that!”

“You left me unsupervised. I’m not responsible for your missing property because of your lack of caring. Also I beat the gym leader for you. You’re welcome.”

“I wanted to beat the gym leader!”

“You’re the only one in our group who hasn’t beaten her yet,” Takeharu hummed, drumming his fingers on top of the table. “She’s the easiest one in the game, dude!”

“Isn’t it because, and I quote, she’s too cute to fight~  I want to make her my wife not another step on my way to victory ahhh~ ” Arata also commented, chin in hands and pencil perched on top his pursed lips.

Rintaro yawned, “Isn’t it just because he sucks at Pokemon?”

“You shut your damn--!” Terushima got cut off by Kagami’s sharp whistle that brought the entire group back to focus. Kagami lowered his hands and clasped them together in front of him. “You could have just said shut up. That works like, every time.”

“Act like animals, be treated like animals.” was Kagami’s simple response.

“That was deep--” came Bobata from the side.

“Anyways,” Kagami continued, “You’re late. You know the rules and no excuses. Sit down so we can finish this meeting and get into the studio.”

“Kaaaaay!” Terushima sat down in his chair but immediately rolled over so he was sitting next to Kagami. He rested his chin on the man’s shoulders and hummed. “Lay it on us, Kags!”

Kagami exhaled slowly and started running off their itinerary for the day. FERAL had a studio recording session today in the afternoon. After that a reporter from Rokkyou was scheduled to get an inside scoop on a typical session in the studio with the band, plus some hints about their next album. Following that would be a photoshoot for the cover and then solo activities.

“And Yuuji,” Kagami flipped to the next page, “You’ll be coming with me to meet the dean of the university we’ll be performing at next week.”

“Why me!”

“Because you’re the leader of FERAL. The face of the group. And the only one free at that time to come meet with me.” Kagami replied evenly. “If I could take someone else, I would.”

“Ouch, that’s rough. You could have said because I was your favorite.”

“And lie?” Terushima gasped, snickers and whistles erupted around the room. He pouted and Kagami grinned. “Favoritism isn’t a tenant I practice.”

“Sounds fake ,” Terushima heard Arata say. He opened his mouth to make a very witty and well thought out remark when Kagami cut in.

“Don’t start,” he warned Terushima. Then he turned to the rest of the group. “Today’s studio session is all out. We hit the ground running the minute we’re in there. Our album release is scheduled next week and I want everyone sounding like they’re pros. ” he made eye contact with every band member before locking eyes with Terushima, who had sat back now that conversation had turned serious. “You guys were an experiment, and you’ve passed your first trial. We can’t afford any mistakes on our second run. Go it?”

Everyone nodded. Terushima double nodded. His legs bounced up and down with unbridled excitement. Going to the studio, just the idea of it alone, could always boil his blood like no other. “Alright bet,” he jumped out of his chair. “What are we sitting around for? Let’s get started.”

*

Slipping the strap of his guitar over his shoulder would never stop feeling so natural. A kiss could never compare to the pure electricity that ran down Terushima’s spine from his lips touching the metal of the mic. He strummed his guitar, adjusting the nobs at the end as he tuned. The rest of his band mates got into position. Bobata on the second guitar, his right hand man. Arata on piano. Takeharu on drums. And Rintaro on bass. Together they made the band FERAL the powerhouse, rock group of 2018 that they were.

They were, in every essence of the word, just as wild as their band name described. The music they produced always jostled social norms, boundaries. Their first album, JUNGLE WARS was an eclectic mashup of different genres. The men trying out find out what genre they liked best only to decide they wanted everything. It was, as Kagami had described it, an experiment. The band’s existence was a whim by the president who wanted to try something totally . . . unpredictable.

And unpredictable they were. FERAL quickly gained notoriety for their outbursts. No TV host or interviewer could guess what they would say or do or think next. The president said that sort of electric movement, haphazard and dangerous, was just what the music world was missing. Terushima didn’t really get it. He assumed the entertainment industry was used to people who followed social conventions to the letter. Yet, when he gazed around the studio at the guys who had quickly become family in the past months since their debut, all he could see were people who loved making music more than anything else in the world. Fuck everything else.

They were fun, a true and unadulterated riot to be around. Being with them, his band, was like waking up to a different adventure everyday. Sure, they definitely gave their manager a chronic headache but they were living their best lives while doing so.

“Alright boys,” Kagami’s voice crackled over the speakers. “We’re going to do the first half of the album today due to our schedule. So, go ahead.” he leaned back, arms crossed, and suddenly the ball was in their court.

Terushima grinned. “Okay. Let’s do the first song. I wanna try a new opening I thought of last night.”

“Before or after you hooked up with Touko-chan,” Takeharu asked.

“Youko-chan,” Bobata corrected.

Rintaro scrunched up his face, “Seriously dude we just changed the opening two days ago!”

“Before!” Terushima responded. “Also, I know. But I woke up yesterday and hated it so I decided to change it before we went out. I was gonna tell you guys then I...forgot.”

“Cool, cool, love being kept in the roller coaster loop that’s your mind,” Bobata strummed a few chords on his guitar. “So you gonna play it or what?”

“Yup,” Terushima took his stance by the microphone and gave Kagami the thumbs up that they were going to start. Kagami pressed a button and the light above the glass window separating them from outside the booth switched from offline to recording.

The thing about FERAL was that they never played the same track twice. So rather than having a track play and them sing over or play over it, they would hit the recording button and capture whatever magic bloomed from the chaos.

For another band, such a tactic was risky as hell with the potential to end in disaster. Never for FERAL and not if Terushima Yuuij had anything to say about it.

He was excited, itching to show everyone what he’d come up with. The idea had struck him last night after taking a shot of tequila right out of the gates. The same burning, explosive, throat-scarring sting of the shot reverberated with the kind of sound he wanted for their first song. Their opening song, the very first thing their fans would hear once they started the album. He wanted that same feeling--a burning that hit you right to your bones and sat with you for the rest of the night.

He steadied himself. His grin was pure electricity.

The first chord he played was powerful. Loud and sharp , the note rattled everyone to their bones. Then, Terushima swiftly went into several chords, his fingers flying up and down the neck of his guitar. Explosive and reverberating, the sound only lasted a minute but when he was done his fingers were tingling and his lips--they were pulled in the most satisfying , crazed grin. He turned his head and looked back at his bandmates who were all mirroring his grin.

“Whatever the hell that was I’m here for it,” Kagami’s voice crackled once more. “Guys? Think you can piggyback off that?”

“Say no more,” Bobata replied. He turned to Terushima, “You’re a genius sometimes, dude.”

“Thanks, I know.”

After that, the session went on pretty much the same way. The band worked together in chaotic harmony. Someone would change a line, a verse, would hate a phrase of lyrics one minute and completely rewrite a bridge or chorus. By the time the reporter from Rokkyou came through the boys had utterly changed their first sound for their upcoming album.

“Now, FERAL’s known for their pretty unorthodox method of songwriting,” the interviewer, Shou, talked with his hands a lot. His smile was wide, stretched across his face, so much so that Terushima felt his mouth hurting in sympathy. The band had left the studio to sit outside on the benches, taking a much needed water break as they tackled the second portion of their schedule. “Can you tell us a little more about that? I’m sure your fans are dying to get inside that head of yours.”

“Pretty sure that’s not all they’re dying to get inside of,” Terushima muttered low enough that Rintaro snorted. Bobata, who by default was the most mature out of the five took to answering the question.

“Ah, it’s pretty--I don’t even know how to describe it… all over the place? We pretty much creative freedom to do whatever we want and we normally don’t leave the studio until we’re all happy with the sound we’ve made.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Terushima leaned in, arm slung over Bobata’s shoulder. “You see, our albums all have bits and pieces of our own style and ideas. But that’s ‘cause we work so hard to get the right mesh. We could spend hours on a song one day then the next we hate it so we start all over again. But we never end with what we started which I think is pretty cool.”

“How does that even work? If you don’t mind me asking. Surely you guys must worry that you could spend all that time in the studio and end up with nothing?”

The band members exchanged glances. “Nah not really,” Takeharu answered, his tone light. “Our producer wouldn’t let us do what we do if we didn’t get results. We’re a mess, but we’re an orchestrated mess. His words, not mine.”

“We’re also at the mercy of Terushima Yuuji,” Rintaro added with a smirk. “Just the other day the dude walks in saying: GUYS WE’RE CHANGING SONGS 1-5 ON THE ALBUM! Which is like, over half the album and we stayed in there for two days trying to match this dude’s pace.”

“Hey sometimes a tune just doesn’t vibe anymore!” Terushima huffed. The snickers that erupted lightly ruffled him. He frowned and pointed a finger towards Rintaro. “Sides you’re so stuck up with perfection if you don’t get the beat right we have to start all over.”

“It’s called setting the bar .”

“No it’s called being anally retentive.”

“Oh my God he really just said that out loud,” Arata put his face in his hands, slowly shaking his head.

Terushima didn’t care, because now he was engaged in banter with Rintaro with Bobata as the chaotic neutral that neither egged nor stopped them from going at each other’s necks. The reporter could get all this done and publish how much of a highly functioning discord they were. As long as he was able to get the last word in, regardless, he didn't really care. Arata sat in the corner, tired as all hell while Takeharu sneakily captured it all on his phone.

Shou, sadly, was left to navigate himself through the wild that was FERAL .

“AND ANOTHER THING--!”

“Enough, Yuuji.” Kagami’s stern voice cut through their antics. The boys settled down, Terushima even more so sinking into his chair with a pout.  Kagami sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I apologize for them. They’re hooligans.”

“Rude,” Bobata said under his breath. Terushima butted him with his elbow. He jumped with a yelp only to be met with Terushima’s childish but oh so satisfied grinned. “ Whipped .”

“Eat my ass,” he whispered in return. He turned to Shou who seemed to have survived their trip in the wild. He was still all smiles and laughter, apparently amused by their display. Good, another positive review for them. Terushima grinned only to feel it falter as Shou asked his next question.

“Alright. So as I’m sure you guys know, you’ve repped quite the name for yourself as being Japan’s resident new bad boys.”

“Oh word?” Terushima’s smirk was lazy. “We wear leather pants one time and suddenly we’re hooligans!”

“I wouldn’t say it was just the pants,” Shou continued, eyebrow raised. “If there’s a party in the city there’s no doubt one or all of you won’t make an appearance. Or cause a scene somewhere . Japan’s hooked on you guys! Saying whatever you want, doing whatever you want. Especially you, Terushima-san.”

Shou’s eyes cut to him and Terushima, relaxed against the couch, raised an eyebrow. “Tabloids love writing about your many exploits, romantically or otherwise. You’ve capitalized yourself on being this wild, playboy who takes no names and all the prisoners.”

“I dunno if I liked how you said that,” Terushima joked, but he didn’t deny it. He was all for strings when they weren’t attached. Tersuhima and commitment were like night and day. Never to touch, never to coexist in the same realm, always to miss each other by running parallel lines. This wasn’t the first time a reporter commented on his exploits, it probably wouldn’t be the last either. So he laughed it off, as he usually did.

He let the world paint him as a playboy. Getting upset every time someone brought it up would be stupid.

Shou didn’t look too perturbed. Asshole. “Sorry, sorry. I can rephrase if you like. What I want to know, if we’re going to be honest, is if you ever see yourself falling in love? Surely you must have met someone in this industry that’s caught your interest for the long run.”

All five of them looked at one another before breaking out into laughter. Terushima laughed the hardest. He clutched his stomach and hollered, tears forming at his eyes. Then they felt ice on their backs and a cough that no doubt came from Kagami. The men gathered their wits, Terushima being the last to come down from his high before answering the question.

“Love? Yeah no, not in this century dude. Unless it’s to the music I’m never getting married. But that’s just me, Arata over there is a huge hopeless romantic. Lemme tell you about this female singer he’s hilariously in love with but she doesn’t even know his name,” it’s so easy to deflect, to move the attention from him and his behavior to someone else. Arata sputtered and Bobata beside him snorted. Though Terushima catches the quick side glance he sends his way. Terushima, of course, ignored it. There was nothing to talk about, and he wasn’t bothered by the question. His life was on display, of course people were going to poke holes.

That’s why he always smiled and waved and gave them what they expected. No need in putting in extra effort to do otherwise.

*

Terushima kicked his feet up into the dashboard, arms resting behind his head as Kagami drove them to the university FERAL would be performing at next week. He shot a glance at his manager who kept concentrated on the road. Even as Terushima haphazardly changed songs on the radio through his phone every thirty seconds.

“Seriously can’t you drop me off at home? I don’t wanna go!”

“You’re being a child,” Kagami chided, not having any of Terushima’s bullshit today or tomorrow or the day after that.

Terushima frowned (read, pouted). “I’m not! I’m tired! I worked and slaved long hard hours in the studio! Got grilled by a reporter! And now you won’t even treat me to food!”

“We’re getting fed once we get there. You also ate five minutes ago.”

“I’m a growing boy, Kags!”

“You’re twenty.”

“A growing twenty-year old boy!”

Kagami shook his head, chuckling despite himself. Terushima beamed, proud of himself for getting the stoic Kagami to crack even if it was only a little bit. Honestly he was happy to accompany his manager on the trip. He owed Kagami a lot. He dealt with a lot of his bullshit over the years even before his debut. If it weren’t for Kagami he had no idea where he’d be right now. Surely not living in a nice place surrounded by people, fed, warm…

Terushima skipped to the next song.

“Remember my rule?” Kagami asked as they made a right turn. Terushima caught the sign for the university, Sendai University 3km away as they did.

“Uhhhh, no sex before marriage?”

“I’m fairly sure you already broke that but no.”

“Say my prayers before bedtime?”

“Do you get off on being difficult?”

“Yes, incredibly. It’s my kink.” Terushima stuck his tongue out, tongue ring flashes while Kagami’s grip on the wheel tightened. Riling him up would never not be fun. “Sorry about the songs! You know I get bored easily. I can only focus for like, fifteen seconds before the part I like plays and I wanna move on.”

“It’s amazing how your mind works,” there was a pause and then Kagami quickly glanced at Terushima. “How are you feeling?”

There was an undercurrent to his words. Terushima’s mind flashed to the interview and he shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I know what I’m doing and how people like to talk. If it gets us more attention that’s a good thing, yeah?”

“Not at the expense of reducing yourself to…”

“Kagami, seriously. It’s all good. I claim my man whoreness,” he smiled lazily and scrubbed through the song to get to his favorite part. The piano grew louder, the drums softly following suit, and the singer’s voice rising with the crescendo. “Honestly it could be worse. I don’t even wanna know how they’d treat me if I were a girl.”

“All hail the patriarchy,” Kagami’s tone oozed sarcasm. Terushima laughed and changed the song again which caused Kagami to growl and Terushima to laugh even harder.

By the time they pulled into the parking lot Kagami had angrily jammed the off button on his radio and almost confiscated Terushima’s phone. But he was took quick. He unbuckled himself and leapt out of the car, stretching his arms out wide as the spring sun hit him square in the face.

“Wow, nice campus,” Terushima whistled, watching as college students mingled and chatted amongst one another. Terushima was concealed with the stereotypical civilian starter pack: a hoodie, hat, and shades.

Sendai University was large, with white buildings separated by lush green grass with sidewalks running in between. College, a world in the past that Terushima was assaulted with constantly. Now, that time period and the entire prospect seemed like a far off, blurry dream. He never thought he’d end up on a campus. Granted, he’s here for his job but still…

“Our guide is meeting us in the gymnasium.” Kagami adjusted his tie, loosening it around the neck.

“Why the gym?” last time he checked they were performing in an outside venue provided by the college.

“You’ll see,” Terushima was not a fan of such a cryptic message but his curiosity was winning him over. He followed with a grumble as Kagami led him towards the gym. He seemed to know his way around, and Terushima was scratching back in his memory if a conversation ever popped up about Kagami’s university days. He knew being a manager wasn’t his first choice. But the blanks weren’t being filled…

They arrived at the gym and the first thing Terushima heard was the sound of sneakers squeaking against the floor. He immediately flashed back to highschool. To days where his jersey was soaked and his muscles were sore and he stood on a court surrounded by teammates that felt more like family than his own.

He’s grabbed out of his thoughts by the sharp sound of a whistle cutting through the air. Terushima watched as the volleyball players huddled together around someone, probably their captain. He said something that got the men energized before they all broke apart to clean up. Only the captain remained, who was approached by some old guy. The coach maybe? They exchanged words when Kagami called after them.

“Yo, Ukai!” Kagami hollered. Terushima watched as Ukai, some blond dude, turned his head. The minute their eyes met Ukai’s face broke out into a brilliant smile and he hustled over to Kagami for a hug.

“Kagami! It’s been ages, buddy!”

Kagami patted his back. “I know. Work’s been time consuming, but I’m glad we can cross paths like this. Thank you for meeting with us.”

“No man, I should be thanking you.” Ukai pulled back and patted him on the shoulder. “The fact that your band could perform at our school’s music festival is… honestly amazing. The principal hasn’t stopped kissing my ass since! Honestly this year’s Christmas bonus is looking pretty hefty and I have you to thank for that.”

“You two know each other?” Terushima asked, still shaken up from seeing Kagami actually hug someone.

“Ah, right. Introductions are in order. Yuuji this is Ukai Keishin A friend from my university days. He’s the volleyball coach here.”

“That’s me, Kagami and I go way back. When he told me you guys would be performing here I couldn’t resist hitting him up again. Ah,” Ukai turned around, back to the captain who was still in the gym doing a workout. “Daichi! Come over here for a minute.”

Daichi, Terushima figured, was built like a house. Broad shoulders and impressive muscles, especially in his arms. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to the shoulders so as he ran, and his arms moved, Terushima could catch the glimpse of subtle flexing. He was taller than him, that’s for sure, and the way he carried himself as he strode over to them exuded casual confidence.

This man was sure of himself, grounded in whatever concept or idea of his being he held true.

Terushima lowered his shades and whistled, “Oh you’re cute.”

“Yuuji!” Kagami hissed. Daichi blinked and Ukai choked on his laugh. “I’m sorry. He has no filter.”

“Wrong. I have a filter i just don’t use it.”

“Which is a problem .”

Terushima’s grin was lazy as he, without shame, gave Daichi a once over. Daichi remained unphased, matching Terushima’s gaze. Terushima’s grin only increased. Would he break? Would he show discomfort? Or would he go on seemingly unphased by his behavior? The possibilities were endless and Terushima hoped he wouldn’t disappoint.

Daichi, after a beat, simply grinned with his eyes closed.   “Oh this is your friend, Ukai-san? A pleasure,” he bowed slightly to Kagami who bowed back in return. When he opened his eyes the gaze he gave Terushima was brutal. Burnt, empty embers that held no amusement in their gaze. It rocked him to his core and he was frozen up until Daichi bowed towards him.

“And you’re Terushima Yuuji?”  the way he said his name made ice prickle on Terushima’s skin. As if saying his name bored him, tasted like acid, or was a waste of breath to even utter.

Oh. Well then.

Terushima didn’t bother bowing back, hands in his pocket. “Yup. Lead singer of FERAL and Japan’s resident bad boy hottie at your service.”

“With all due respect I think I’ll stick to calling you Terushima-san.” Dachi’s voice was clipped. Terushima’s lips twitched.

“You can call me whatever you like, babe~” Flirting came as easily as breathing to Terushima and really, he wanted to see Daichi crack, twitch, do something but Daichi was impenetrable. It was like Terushima’s words were going in one ear and out the other.

“Okaay uh, well!” Ukai cut in, clearing his throat. “Daichi like we talked about you’re gonna take Terushima on a quick tour around campus. I’ll catch up with Kagami and we’ll meet back here in an hour to meet with the principal about the concert.”

Terushima wanted to claw out his eyeballs. He’d much rather explore the campus on his own, or with Kagami, rather than Daichi. Sure, teasing him would be fun just to see how many cracks (if at all) he could put into that armor but at the same time the dude seemed like a stick in the mud. No fun and definitely a pain in the ass if and when Terushima got into trouble. However, he knew Kagami wouldn’t let him roam free without some form of leash. And, when he looked back at his manager, Kagami looked pretty pumped to hang out with an old friend.

The things I do for the people I love, he sighed, jamming his hands in his pockets and pushing his shades back up his nose. “Yeah okay. Whatever. Let’s get this show on the road.” Terushima drawled.

Kagami nodded, “Right. Enjoy your tour and don’t give Daichi too much trouble, Yuuji. I’ll see you in an hour.” he turned and Ukai threw an arm over his shoulder as the two fell into comfortable chattering over the past, the present, the future, the whatever it was two old men talked about when they reunited after years apart.

They left Daichi and Terushima in awkward, uncomfortable silence. Terushima looked down at his adidas then back to Daichi. “So, the tour?”

Daichi nodded, it was a tight jerky movement. Man this dude really didn’t like him. Who knew a little flirting was enough to set him on edge? “Right. Can I shower really fast, and then we can go?”

It’s on the tip of Terushima’s pierced tongue to offer assistance. And the voice in his mind that sounded oddly like Kagami told him to hold back but alas, Terushima was a man of no restraint so his flirtation fell easily from his lips. “Sure. Mind if I tag along?”

“Very much so,” Daichi had this way of saying things so politely yet so sharply. Like he’d stab you and smile through it all as you bled out onto the floor. Terushima laughed, watching Daichi turn on his heel and head for the showers.  

This tour would either end up being the death of him, the death of Daichi, or the death of them both and honestly? He was kinda looking forward to it.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Demon Slayer 21 - 24 | Given 7 - 11 (FINAL) | Astra 9 - 12 (FINAL) | Fruits Basket 20 - 24 | Dr Stone 8 - 11 | Cop Craft 8 - 10 (not including recap ep.)

Demon Slayer 21

Ooh, butterfly titlecard.

Well…at least we know Muzan…wasn’t always Muzan Jackson.

Can demons go to hell…?

Aw, seeing Rui become human again (at least in his head) was pretty cute.

Shinobu is off her rocker!!! (a continuation of a comment I made in the collab post for last ep.)

“…don’t forget about the other one!” – The other…what, exactly…?

This girl…is Kanao, isn’t it…? She’s the “other one”!

I was almost hoping Shinobu’s shoe blade would stab the crow…it ruined a perfectly good buch of Giyu reaction faces…

Ukogi! You came back to me!

Why can’t the girls wear trousers too…? (someone grumbles “Because that’s not in accordance with the times in the Taisho Era) I don’t care, let girls wear pants! This is not Strike Witches! Update: Shinobu wears pants, actually…*people collectively facepalm*

Kakushi means “hidden/to hide”. It makes a lot of sense, to be honest.

Given 7

I like the ambient sounds in this show.

If Akihiko learnt you thought something was wrong with him, he’d beat you up. Stat.

Haruki and Akihiko: masters of reading the room. (When they’re counted as a pair, that is.)

I just realised Akihiko is daling with Mafuyu because of Yayoi…Yayoi is what Kasai could be and Ugetsu/Akihiko is what Ritsuka/Mafuyu could be.

Dr Stone 8

Note Jasper says “baka musume” – he still acknowledges Kohaku is his daughter even after disowning her.

“We’re neither gods nor geniuses,” says Senku, a genius…hmm.

Suika has such a cute voice that it’s easy to guess her gender…*hint hint*

Was it “kitto” (certainly) or “Kinro” Ginro said in his sleep…?

I think the eyecatch might be iron sand (some form of it, at least).

Fruits Basket 20

(no notes here, sorry!)

Cop Craft 8

What was that black thing that appeared before the plane broke apart…?

Ohhhhhhh…kay. That was not something I signed up for…

Isn’t there some kind of magic Tilarna can use to get back into her body?

I find it ironic that Seven Miles (a place name, I presume) is 3 miles away…

Given 8

I never skip the OP…so I guess it helps that I found Marutsuke and Kizuato on Spotify. (<-Here you go.)

Indirect kiss…!

I’m reminded of what Boueibu said about umbrella colour being a reflection of your personality when I see Mafuyu with a disposable umbrella.

“Hiiragi Kashima wants to be forgiven” sounds like a LN title.

(I had some notes here, but I forgot them…such is the life of watching on phone but writing the notes down later.)

Demon Slayer 22

I LOLled when Tanjiro asked what a Hashira was…(does he know what it is…? Should we know at this point what it is, or did spoilers ruin it for me?)

Wisteria pattern!

LOL, I like Mist Hashira already!

Only Shinobu has a hiragana first name (out of the Hashiras)…hmm.

Shi-Shinazugawa…? Isn’t that the surname of angry-for-the-sake-of-angry mohawk guy from Final Selection…?

Tanjiro uses his head…once again. (That joke never gets old! What do you mean, you don’t like it…?)

Hashiras’ jackets say korosu (to kill) while ordinary slayers get horobosu (to destroy) and Kakushis’ jackets say, well, kakushi (to hide).

“I wonder if the sky is blue.” – Is this person (master of the mansion)…blind…?

The bandage-head Hashira who says “flamboyant” all the time…he reminds me of Senku…(in a bad way.)

I wonder if Giyu will be punished…? A few comments this episode have suggested such an outcome.

“…devours humans…”

Rengoku (flame Hashira)…I think I once saw him being referred to as “Blaziken Head” by someone on the ‘net…LOL.

How does the Master know this…? The Kasugai crows, right?

I just realised the love Hashira has a skirt…

Poor Giyu has his head turned away…he’s too embarrassed to even blush.

Fruits Basket 21

I noticed the fanclub only ever calls Hana “wave girl”…

I love how the narrator, a middle-aged man, has to voice the thoughts of a teenage girl.

Fruits Basket 22

(no notes, sorry!)

Dr Stone 9

H & N, huh…?

Astra 9

So…what is the sphere…?

Luca’s real dad vs. Quitterie’s mom = art vs. science, LOL.

…I almost cried when everyone started crying…

Uh…random question I didn’t think about when it was revealed, but should Luca invest in a bra…?

You can see Gruppies and waves on the wall while Kanata and Luca talk…and shrooms...and coral…

Wait, so these guys are all…aliens? Polina is the only one from Earth…? What about the sphere???

Cop Craft 9

Why did the intro get moved to the middle of the episode…? Also, I’ve noticed there’s a special episode next week…it means there really was a budget and/or scheduling stuff-up along the way somewhere, just like you can suspect with an anime that moves as terribly as this one.

There’s a strange dent in Kei’s leg…specifically, on his kneecap…

Astra 10

Guardian Enzo said no one’s mentioned the Astra crew never said they were from Earth before…now I’m noticing it too.

W-WHAT?! I was right????? (see this post for why I suspected Charce to be the culprit)

Demon Slayer 23

3 episodes until the end, huh…?

Why does Sanemi taunting Nezuko remind me of a sexual encounter…? (with the “You know you want it” etc.)…Uh, bad news, guys. Sanemi is 21 and Nezuko is 14, so no shipping unless you don’t mind 7 year age gaps and an underage girl, all in the one ship.

Mist Hashira? Using rocks to flick at the esteemed guest (Tanjiro)? Hmm, he ain’t quite my type after all…

This Kakushi that keeps punching Tanjiro seems to be a woman…or just a guy with very long eyelashes. Update: Nope, definitely a woman. The Kakushi dynamic almost reminds me of Jessie and James from Pokémon…

Heyyyyyyy! Don’t underestimate a girl!!!!!!!!!!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nope. Nope. Nope. I was hoping we wouldn’t hear about how Zenitsu’s hands were the size of a KFC spork, but…eeeeeeeeeesh…

I never thought I’d be so happy to have Inosuke silenced by spider daddy…well, here we are.

“…I’ll become an old guy and die.” – Wow…even I don’t think of that stuff…

I wonder if Muzan had anything to do with why the Master’s head looks the way it is?

Dr Stone 10

(no notes, sorry!)

Given 9

I wonder if Akihiko ever liked Yayoi in the first place…

I noticed Ritsuka says “atarashii hito” which is translated to “someone else”…the English suggests more intimacy than the Japanese…hmm.

Mafuyu, my boy…! (I bet you could call all of The Seasons “my boys” now.)

I love how Take acts as Haruki’s straight man.

I was wondering why the ANN review was referring to Given as “Wonderwall” – that’s the name of the next episode.

Fruits Basket 23

“What are you doing?”

Astra 11

Only one ‘til the end…oh wow, where did the time go??? (Also, ep. 12’s title of “Friend-Ship” is terrible…a terrible pun…)

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuude, I saw the Seira = Aries thing right away…it’s exactly the same as what breaks Juuni Taisen for people…

Wait, but couldn’t Charce, as the king’s clone, becom the heir to the throne instead…?

Oh, that…that joke’s absolutely terrible…! *shakes head* Did you know I was holding my hand over my mouth for basically that entire climactic scene?  I think summer might have a fighting chance in the end-of-year rankings for once!

Demon Slayer 24

I love how Tanjiro is “that headbutting kid” now.

There are cute little butterflies on the title card.

It’s good to see the return of Murata…and those transition faces.

Considering spiders are pretty gross if you think about it, both sides have a point…

Murata’s a more fun character than I thought a bit guy would be…in fact, that might explain why we learn his name, as opposed to being a nobody (like the female Slayer on the mountain that got killed by Spider Mama).

“I think we’re a lot better now.” – Aside from Zenitsu’s hands, that is…*makes disgusted face and thinks of KFC sporks*

Sleeping Ukogi is totes adorbs…*face beams with happiness*

Uhhhhhhhh…I reallllllllly dunno what to feel about Zenitsu’s love of girls. He’s no playboy, that’s for sure. Unfortunately (?), I do agree with Zenitsu on how Inosuke deals with girls though.

Zenitsu’s an M, I tell you! An MMMMMMM!

Wow, someone put real effort…into Zenitsu playing tag with a girl…sad life.

“A girl was able to do that to something that hard?!” – Nyeh-heh-heh-heh…call me dirty-minded, but…because this is blowing into a gourd we’re talking about, it sounds funny out of context.

Lemme guess…Aoi is this blue grumpy one. That’s why I dropped Divine Gate (since characters matched their colour schemes too well). Update: No, this blue one was talking when she mentioned Aoi, so Aoi is one of the three mini butterfly girls, I think. Update 2: No, the sentence was punctuated funny: “You’ll be up against myself, Aoi and Kanao there.” Turns out Aoi really is blue grumpy girl, because the sentence is missing a comma after “Aoi”.

“Please forgive me.” – Hey, Moya, you were right. Plus, that random Haganezuka appearance was funny – that’s been the first time in a while that I’ve laughed at Demon Slayer properly.

Apparently Shinobu and Tanjiro on the roof is a meme now. Now I see why.

“…with their instincts laid totally bare.” – I feel like slayers and demons aren’t so different, because even thought both fight for survival, slayers fight for revenge (in a sense, bloodlust) and demons for actual bloodlust.

“I feel like I can rest easy now.” – Sounds like an early death flag to me! (I may be an anime-only watcher at this point, but I encountered some spoilers that showed me Shinobu’s fate. Be mindful of that if it seems like I’m accurately predicting the future.)

Shinobu and Tanjiro…hmm, what a combo.

I love how the Zenitsu and Inosuke in the background react to crimes they’re being accused of in the foreground.

Cop Craft 10

Emails, emails…can’t anyone talk in person these days? (As much as I love emails, I gotta critique that.)

Hey wait. I thought their AI wasn’t so good…

Kei’s birthday is the 18th of June 1993…? Wow, I didn’t know he was 26.

New what now??? This really is straight outta Compton, if you know what I mean…

The march about aliens here reminds me of the climate strike the other day.

Given 10

Smol Ritsuka…

This show is hilarious when it needs to be. I’m really gonna miss it.

“Kedama” means hairball. “Tama” is a cat’s name, as implied here.

“Mafuyu” has “winter” in it to make a set of 4 seasons though…

Oh, so that’s why they’re – and this show is - “Given”.

Fruits Basket 24

Did Tohru vomit…or was she just catching her breath…?

“…when you are.”

Was this “monstrous Kyo” scene halfway through the manga or at the end? I don’t remember anymore…

Astra 12 (FINAL)

Hmm…I heard about gaman (“tolerance”, “persistence”…or maybe “working through hardship”…?) being a concept in the past few years and I think it’s very much embodied in the streotypical Japanese man…or just Kanata. Who knows?

So…what language are Kanata and co. really speaking? It seems like English, based on the spaceport screens (I rewatched ep. 1 today, I should know), but they’re speaking in Japanese for the sake of the fact it’s anime, right? Update: I also noticed quit a bit of the spaceport advertising is for Lucy Lum, while there is special attention paid to Aries’s eyes in ep. 1.

This is what they mean when they say “history is written by the victors”. To build from that, my idea is that the hegemonic idea becomes the truth, i.e. majority rules wins the ability to write history itself (e.g. patriarchal values, able-bodied people’s values etc. write history, not the minorities).

Aries may have eidetic memory, but she sucks at names. That’s consistent with ep. 1 too.

Oh, right! Kanata’s right arm is his dominant one!...I never knew such fond memories could be made of a single character’s appendage…who knew.

LOL, Charce brought out his sparkly face again.

Ooh, older!Ulgar is hot! Me likey!!!

Ooh, Funi’s star ornament. Ulgar still has one!

I swore that was Quitterie…turned out it was Funi. Oh well, Astra lied to me again. (I’m fine with that.)

You can even see Luca’s femininity for once…!

Ooh, red tulips = true love, white tulips = forgiveness/worthiness. Normally tulips represent “perfect love”. Perfect for Kanata and Aries, don’tcha think?

I was wondering why Kanata had a new black hand. (Maybe it was a glove or something.) Nope, it’s a prosthetic.

I don’t actually know how to say that joke about being a right-hand man in Japanese, despite hearing it from the show twice (I went back and tried to listen again). Somebody tell me, please!

I noticed one of the people in the cast list had an exclamation mark next to their name…well, that was funny for a second.

The one unrecognisable song was Astra-gou no Bouken (Adventure of the Spaceship Astra).

Well, that was a wild ride. I’m definitely sad that it’s over, but remember what they say in the show itself – look forward, not back. See you next time!

Given 11 (FINAL)

Come to think of it, if you interpret Kizuato one way, it means “Traces of Scars”, but this song’s title is in katakana so you can’t tell…

This is like a marriage proposal…

I’ve noticed something – ever since I started engaging with BL and yaoi in earnest, I’ve realised there’s this fear of “not being masculine” enough by both members of the couple. That’s probably what Ritsuka is going through with the box.

What did Ritsuka even bump into on his way out, though…?

Oh, science curriculum, huh? Me, I’m a student of the humanities, so I wouldn’t know about that feel…I was always average at English anyway after essays started coming in…

Oh, we’re back at Harusame. Didn’t think we would be.

I love how Mafuyu’s handle for the band is “Kedama”…the name of his dog.

Update: Turns out the SNS account for Given (band), as well as Mafuyu and Ritsuka, are real...on Twitter. I’d assume Haruki and Akihiko join them for the movie...?

Dr Stone 11

Ooh, lyrics! Finally!

I almost expected Chrome to go, “What’s soap?” – he’s never seen it before, remember?

Note Kaseki means “fossil” in Japanese and contains the kanji for “stone” in it.

Ginro just yelled the Weekly Shonen Jump motto…coincidence? I think not!

Team Shiny Spear Tips Forever complicates things for the crew.

[usainitiatives-blog]

WalM&Art. Bonobos is about to be snapped-up by Walmart for c.$300m. The brand, aimed at men who want to look good but with minimal effort, also offers a unique approach: go in-store, pick-out clothes; then they are delivered to your home. (More here.) It follows the purchases of Jet.com, ModCloth, the domain name / social media accounts of (now defunct) shoes.com, and the hiring of ex-Rent The Runway founder Jennifer Fleiss to head new project 'Code Eight'. They mean business. Next, Mike Ashley, the controversial owner of the UK's Sports Direct, has made a foray stateside buying Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob's Stores. Also, the relatively upscale condiment maker 'Sir Kensington' has been bought by Unilever for an undisclosed fee. This follows their rebuttal of Kraft Foods' merger proposal in February. No wonder retail M&A is at a 10-year high! Out On Its Own 

Amazon picked-up the rights to stream 10 American Football games (replacing Twitter). This follows Facebook Live's deal with MLS and YouTube TV getting MLB action. 'Cord cutting' has been a trend in recent years, yet sports has arguably been one of the last bastions; this is an interesting time for the networks. (Good podcast here.) 

You may remember this newsletter pointing-out the threat posed by Amazon within finance? 'Amazon Cash', allows people to go into a CVS store and give money to the cashier, which is then added to their Amazon account as a gift card. This is not banking per se, as money cannot be withdrawn, however it gives those without a bank account a way into Amazon's ecosystem. (Note also, Chinese retailer Alibaba's subsidiary 'Ant Financial' is set to buy US company MoneyGram.) 

Next, the brand is attempting to create a true influencer-affiliate model; whilst it might not garner interest from 'high end' personalities, it has been embraced by WhatsUpMoms, because the products they recommend typically feature on the site. Win-win. 

Scott Galloway's must-watch talk on how Amazon is taking-apart retail. 

Lastly, meet Echo Look which can take full-length photos and give styling advice via algorithm! 

Tech Talk YouTube TV is live - here's the skinny. Plus, YouTube has changed its partner program rules and will only allow those with 10k+ lifetime views to monetise their account - the move is designed to reward original content makers, rather than those who simply repost. Twitter locked horns with the government, which demanded to know the identity of a derogatory account allegedly run by someone in the Immigration department: the little bird claims the request violates the First Amendment right to free speech. Google is embracing fact-checking, kinda. It is adding tags to articles that will signpost authenticity. However the giant is passing the verification process onto third-parties, like PolitiFact. Soon icons will be added to search results to highlight platforms where a film or song can be streamed! Next, Autodraw's machine learning can guess what your mouse-guided scribbles were attempting to draw and make suggestions. Tumblr released 'Cabana', an app for 6 users to concurrently watch YouTube videos and live chat. AOL and Yahoo, once the heavyweights of tech, have been rebranded as 'Oath'. No one knows why. Instagram Direct now has 375m users and yet more Snapchat-esque features such as disappearing messages. Facebook Messenger is taking on Venmo with peer-to-peer group payments. Lastly, Facebook is planning an interface that lets people type with their brain. Small But Important 

A new retail threat is looming - the border adjusted tax. In an effort to balance potential corporation tax cuts President Trump's proposed measure would see a 20% levy on imported goods. Target, Gap, and Best Buy are so concerned that they have spent a combined $3.2m on lobbyists during the first quarter this year (versus $800k in Q1 2016). In 

Burger King's recent TV spot the narrator claimed that 15 seconds was not long enough to describe the Whopper, so instead asked: 'Google, what is the Whopper'; whereupon viewer's connected devices answered the question. It was not cleared by Google... 

Interestingly, their rival pulled a similar stunt in this ad. Riffing on the theory that Coca-Cola tastes better at McDonalds, Mindy Kaling implores people to search for 'that place where Coke tastes so good'. The burger joint's name is not mentioned precisely because they knew that Google results would do that for them. Is this the new guerilla marketing, where companies hijack other brand's tech to promote their wares? 

It was a bad month for PR: adidas sent runners a 'Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon' message; Bud Light's #UpForWhatever included the inexcusable line, 'The perfect beer for removing 'No' from your vocabulary for the night'; there was Pepsi's now infamous advert, which was pulled after 24 hours due to backlash; and sobering scenes on United Airlines. It was a surprise then to see Puma being taken to task for: 1. Using Kylie Jenner (rather than an athlete). 2. Her running style. Within the context neither seemed too bad. 

adidas's senior VP of global brand strategy talked to GQ about over-taking Nike. Punchy. However, given the success of Vapormax, could this be the beginning of the beginning of a swing back? 

Boohoo - the UK online retailer - saw full year US sales surge 140%. 

In an attempt to reduce last mile delivery costs Walmart is discounting 10,000 items - but customers must pick-up in-store. 

Nordstrom are selling $425 jeans covered in fake mud - 'rugged'. 

Outside magazine's female-only May cover features 10 icons. 

Under Armour's campaign takes aim at the old-fashioned notion that 'You're pretty' is the ultimate compliment for a women by repositioning it as a prefix, with terms like 'strong' and 'powerful' as a suffix. 

The Zappos 'Adaptive' range / site experience - for those with special needs, who find getting dressed a challenge - is admirable. 

J. Crew have parted company with their Executive Creative Director Jenna Lyons after 5 years. A downturn in sales - and quality - led to her demise. The vacant role will be not be filled. Rebekka Bay - once of Gap and Everlane - joins Uniqlo. 

3D knitting could be a way for brick and mortar stores to compete, especially with Gen X, who will grow-up with eCommerce and be less amazed by it. Machinery will be able to measure the body and then knit inventory on the spot. adidas is all in... (Although so are Amazon.) 

Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister will wholesale on Zalora (part of Rocket Internet), offering it access to 600m pan-Asian customers. 

This piece looks at the emotive language that brands use towards consumers. It believes that expressions like 'we love our customers' are beginning to feel disingenuous. With the rise of voice search and bots brands must consider tone of voice across touch points. 

Farfetch are talking about 'the offline cookie', whereby brands collect data about their customers in-store, as they do on websites. Snapchat is trying to offer similar targeting opportunities too. 

Lingerie is the next sector primed for disruption, according to this article. Yet Bloomberg thinks all is rosy for Victoria's Secret reputation. Andie Swim is the 'Warby Parker' of swimwear, apparently. 

British food chain 'Pret a Manger' is trailing a vegan NY pop-up to test consumer feedback - via #NotJustForVeggies. 

BoF chatted with Anna Wintour (two parts). 

98m users have watched 500m hours of Adam Sandler movies on Netflix. 

Zeitgeist symbiosis? K-Beauty + Pokemon = Pokemon make-up. 

Gap's CEO responded to a 5 year-old's complaints about the overly pink and flowery designs in the girls section: 'you are right ... I’ve talked with our designers and we’re going to work on even more fun stuff that I think you’ll like.' Nice. 

Reddit gave the internet a blank canvas on April Fool's Day and let them draw. 72 hours later and over a million people had taken part. Interestingly, because individuals could only add one pixel every five minutes, groups - known as sub-Reddits - came together to coordinate activity, such as drawing flags and combatting hate speech. 

And finally! Doritos have teamed-up with Guardians of the Galaxy 2 to create a limited run of chip packets that have a music player built-in featuring the full soundtrack. Tasty.